Sen. Corbin introduces measure in North Carolina Senate to boost Medicaid primary care pay to Medicare levels

A bill introduced by State Sen. Kevin Corbin aims to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates for primary care services in North Carolina to equal Medicare rates, the North Carolina State Senate reports.

Labeled as SB 780 and filed April 21 during the 2025 regular session, the bill carries the short title ‘Modernize Medicaid Primary Care Rates.’

The summary below is based on the actual bill text and may offer interpretive detail for clarity.

Specifically, the legislation would allocate $48 million in recurring funds from the General Fund and related receipts starting with the 2026-27 fiscal year to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Benefits. The goal is to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for primary care so they are on par with Medicare rates. Implementation of these increases must occur as soon as reasonably possible following July 1, 2026, and will cover services defined by the North Carolina Primary Care Payment Reform Task Force in an April 17, 2024, report to the General Assembly. The effective date of the act is July 1, 2026.

Among the bill’s three sponsors, Jim Burgin introduced the largest number of bills (71) during the 2025 regular session.

Legislation in North Carolina goes through a multi-step process before becoming law. It begins when a lawmaker files a bill, which is then referred to a committee for evaluation. Each chamber must read the bill three times. If amendments are made by either chamber, both bodies must approve the finalized version. Once identical versions are passed in both chambers, the bill is sent to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 days if the legislature is out of session) to act by signing, vetoing, or allowing it to become law without a signature.

Corbin earned his BS from Appalachian State University in 1983.

A Republican, Corbin was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 2021 to represent the 50th Senate district, succeeding former state senator Jim Davis.